<p class="title">External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday met Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and the two leaders discussed new avenues of relationship through the opportunities provided by "New India."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Singapore, was accompanied by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep S Puri during his meeting with Keat, who is also Singapore's finance minister.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Cordial meeting with Deputy PM & Finance Minister @MOFsg Heng Swee Keat along with Minister @HardeepSPuri. Discussed refreshing the India-Singapore agenda by exploring opportunities provided by New India," Jaishankar tweeted.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Jaishankar also had a meeting with Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"A meeting of minds with Defence Minister @Ng_Eng_Hen. Benefitted from his insights and assessments as always," he tweeted.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On Monday, Jaishankar called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and discussed with him bilateral ties and the issues concerning the world.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He also co-chaired the 6th Joint Ministerial Commission with his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan and reviewed the whole range of bilateral issues.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He also had good interaction with Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing on scaling up trade and investment.</p>.<p class="bodytext">During his visit, Jaishankar also attended the India-Singapore Business & Innovation Summit and expressed India's reservations on joining the proposed mega free trade agreement RCEP as it is concerned over the "protectionist policies" of China that have created a significant trade deficit between the two nations, as high as USD 57 billion in 2018.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed mega free trade agreement being negotiated among 16 countries including 10-nation ASEAN bloc (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and its six trading partners -- India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. </p>
<p class="title">External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday met Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and the two leaders discussed new avenues of relationship through the opportunities provided by "New India."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Singapore, was accompanied by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep S Puri during his meeting with Keat, who is also Singapore's finance minister.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Cordial meeting with Deputy PM & Finance Minister @MOFsg Heng Swee Keat along with Minister @HardeepSPuri. Discussed refreshing the India-Singapore agenda by exploring opportunities provided by New India," Jaishankar tweeted.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Jaishankar also had a meeting with Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"A meeting of minds with Defence Minister @Ng_Eng_Hen. Benefitted from his insights and assessments as always," he tweeted.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On Monday, Jaishankar called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and discussed with him bilateral ties and the issues concerning the world.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He also co-chaired the 6th Joint Ministerial Commission with his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan and reviewed the whole range of bilateral issues.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He also had good interaction with Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing on scaling up trade and investment.</p>.<p class="bodytext">During his visit, Jaishankar also attended the India-Singapore Business & Innovation Summit and expressed India's reservations on joining the proposed mega free trade agreement RCEP as it is concerned over the "protectionist policies" of China that have created a significant trade deficit between the two nations, as high as USD 57 billion in 2018.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed mega free trade agreement being negotiated among 16 countries including 10-nation ASEAN bloc (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and its six trading partners -- India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. </p>